Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Diminish \Di*min"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Diminished}; p. pr.
& vb. n. {Diminishing}.] [Pref. di- (= L. dis-) + minish: cf.
L. diminuere, F. diminuer, OE. diminuen. See {Dis-}, and
{Minish}.]
1. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or
amount; to lessen; -- opposed to {augment} or {increase}.
Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt.
--Barrow.
2. To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to
degrade; to abase; to weaken.
This doth nothing diminish their opinion. --Robynson
(More's
Utopia).
I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule
over the nations. --Ezek. xxix.
15.
O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars Hide their
diminished heads. --Milton.
3. (Mus.) To make smaller by a half step; to make (an
interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh.
4. To take away; to subtract.
Neither shall ye diminish aught from it. --Deut. iv.
2.
{Diminished column}, one whose upper diameter is less than
the lower.
{Diminished}, or {Diminishing}, {scale}, a scale of gradation
used in finding the different points for drawing the
spiral curve of the volute. --Gwilt.
{Diminishing rule} (Arch.), a board cut with a concave edge,
for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft.
{Diminishing stile} (Arch.), a stile which is narrower in one
part than in another, as in many glazed doors.
Syn: To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail;
impair; degrade. See {Decrease}.